Author Archives: trevorspear

December Pending Home Sales,

For quite some time, borrowers have had the opportunity to take advantage of very low mortgage rates. But opportunities don’t last forever. For the first time in many months, rates have recently moved up. We don’t know if this is a … Continue reading

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EPA Study: Infill Represents 21% of New-Home Construction

Nationally, infill development qualifies as a widespread trend that many housing and planning experts love to discuss. But a new study by the EPA’s Office of Sustainable Communities shows that the presence of infill varies significantly in housing markets across the country, … Continue reading

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Construction Jobs May Be Ready to Take Off

By Kathleen Madigan Among all the measures of housing’s recovery, one gauge lags far behind: building jobs. But this year, construction payrolls may catch up finally with building activity. Although Friday’s new home sales data reported a disappointing 7.3% drop … Continue reading

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Lumber poised to surge with housing, China demand: Capital Economics

  U.S. benchmark prices for lumber could rise around another 25% this year, according to Capital Economics, which added lumber to its coverage of agricultural commodities on Monday. “We think that the price of lumber could rise further this year … Continue reading

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Housing to drive economic growth (finally!)

The bursting of the housing bubble plunged the economy into a recession from which it has yet to fully recover. But economists say this could finally be the year that housing lifts us out of the doldrums. Just over half … Continue reading

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PENDING HOME SALES, THE FED, GDP, INFLATION, MANUFACTURING, JOBS..

PENDING HOME SALES, THE FED, GDP, INFLATION, MANUFACTURING, JOBS… This week tells us about lots of things economic, but the forecasts are mixed. December Pending Home Sales should be down a bit and Wednesday’s FOMC Rate Decision is expected to … Continue reading

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Home building outlook is cautiously optimistic

Although recent months have seen improvement in the number of housing starts and permits pulled, it will be multi-family builders that feel the uptick initially, according to a panel of economists speaking at the International Builders’ Show in Las Vegas … Continue reading

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Latest Census Data Reveals New-Home Buyer Priorities

Builders interested in selling more homes this year may want to take a closer look at the newest data release from the American Housing Survey. Conducted every two years by the U.S. Census Bureau, the American Housing Survey collects all sorts … Continue reading

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Industrial production and capacity utilization both edged up in December

Industrial production increased 0.3 percent in December after having risen 1.0 percent in November when production rebounded in the industries that had been negatively affected by Hurricane Sandy in late October. For the fourth quarter as a whole, total industrial … Continue reading

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CPI unchanged in December but up by 1.7% over last 12 months

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) was unchanged in December on a seasonally adjusted basis, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 1.7 percent before seasonal … Continue reading

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